US Middle East Envoy Witkoff hints more states may join Abraham Accords

US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff has suggested that more countries in the region are preparing to join the controversial Abraham Accords and normalise relations with Israel.

Speaking to CNBC, Witkoff said that expanding the accords remains one of US President Donald Trump's "key objectives", and that his team, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the State Department, are actively pursuing that policy.

"We think we are going to have some pretty big announcements on countries that are coming into the Abraham peace accords," he said. "We are hoping for normalisation across an array of countries that maybe people would have never contemplated would come in."

Originally launched during Trump’s first term in 2020, the Abraham Accords began with the UAE and Bahrain, later expanding to include Sudan and Morocco.

Witkoff's comments coincided with the circulation of images of a new billboard in Tel Aviv depicting Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and a group of Arab and Gulf leaders under the slogan: "The Abraham Alliance: It’s time for a new Middle East."

While the billboard includes leaders from countries that already have ties with Israel, including Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and the UAE’s Mohammed bin Zayed, it also features leaders from states that have no relations with Israel, including Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa and Lebanon's Joseph Aoun.

The inclusion of Syria and Lebanon, both of which have land occupied by Israel, has raised eyebrows. According to Israel Hayom, Israel’s National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi told a Knesset committee this week that Israel is in "direct daily dialogue at all levels" with Syria and called it a candidate for joining the accords.

Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa has acknowledged "indirect negotiations" through mediators regarding Israel’s ongoing incursions and occupation of southern Syria. Talks reportedly involve halting violations in the Golan Heights, which Israel currently occupies, a likely roadblock to any future normalisation.

Hanegbi also named Lebanon as a potential candidate. In recent months, there has been renewed Israeli lobbying to bring Lebanon into the accords. Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, recently claimed Lebanon could normalise relations before Saudi Arabia.

However, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has repeatedly said that any normalisation is conditional on the establishment of a Palestinian state. He reaffirmed this after facing domestic backlash to earlier comments made on CNN.

Oman, also featured on the billboard, last year firmly rejected any normalisation with Israel, calling its war on Gaza "barbaric". Saudi Arabia likewise distanced itself from earlier normalisation talks, reiterating that a two-state solution remains a prerequisite.

Libya, which is currently divided between rival governments, has also been linked to normalisation attempts. In August 2023, the Tripoli-based government’s foreign minister, Najla al-Mangoush, was dismissed after meeting with Israeli officials, sparking widespread protests. Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah later faced criticism over his reported involvement in the effort.